The world's most powerful tidal current

Near Bodø in Norway, there's the strongest tidal current in the world: Saltstraumen Maelstrom, a constantly-changing rush of whirlpools, boils and vortices. It might not be quite the whirlpools of myth and legend, but it's still an impressive sight to see.
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[@TomScottGo]

And for everyone who's been waiting: Citation Needed returns Thursday!

[@HiyuMarten]

Woo!

[@mrfoodcart16]

YESSSS

[@metmanik]

yee

[@TheCatpirate]

Tom Scott Amazing Places: The Maginot Line.

[@ItsPengWin]

The best four words anyone could ever say!

[@oOBeagleOo]

Can always count on Tom to give us the most current content.

[@Rottensteam]

He should've done a live "stream" there.

[@zeppie_]

I don't understand. Water you two talking about?

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

I sea you're up to no good again.

[@connorconnor7097]

I'm gonna turn your tide.

[@connorconnor7097]

Also, this seems a bit "fish"-y.

[@romanski5811]

Bread goes in, toast comes out. Can't explain that.

[@ciarfah]

Romanski God dunnit

[@aarontom]

Checkmate, atheists.

[@10LifeCat]

Romanski Yeah but when Toast goes in, some guy named Chris and a lot of denial come out.

[@theJellyjoker]

Food goes in poop comes out, you can't explain that!

[@tomj7193]

Chickens go in, pies come out.

[@moonbeamyall4007]

no matter what you binge on KZbin, you'll always end up in Tom Scott videos

[@jonathanwgeorge98]

Currently living this reality

[@Kenan-Z]

It's just what happened to me today. Are you an oracle? How come you know it?😧

[@moonbeamyall4007]

@@Kenan-Z i am inside your CPU

[@craigbrown04]

Me as well!!!!!!! Are we trapped?

[@ryanrowat6640]

Tom, the Scookumchuck narrows here in BC on the west coast of Canada is similar. We see 760m cubic meters flow with a 3m tide change. Amazing to see. They practice surfing and kayaking on a 2m waterfall caused by it during extreme tide changes of 5m. Love your channel, thanks

[@jameselliott8541]

I knew there'd be another coaster in here.

[@davemacmurchie6982]

It would be interesting to know what the maximum flows actually are. The Wikipedia entry for Saltstraumen Maelstrom says the official numbers, from the Norwegian Pilot, are less than 10 kts, which is a lot less than Skookumchuck and other places on the BC coast where currents often run into the teens.

[@tommyhvalberg]

Fun fact: Scuba divers often take a dip when the current is at its strongest outwards (towards the ocean), to be flung underwater at high speeds just for shits and giggles. They then end up hundreds of meters out in the ocean and get picked up either by boat or helicopter ^_^

[@MisterYoda15]

is it possible to swim against the current...? or just swim towards the shore when you are flung hundreds of meters since its weaker there?

[@thisismagacountry1318]

Or Shark

[@JT-dt4lq]

chickentandoori87 - what about sharks that get caught in the current and then get tossed straight at you???

[@norgepalm7315]

Fun fact: no one enters this part of the fjord, its restricted.

[@jakehildebrand1824]

Sounds fun

[@Wolfiegangs]

Why does this guy look old and young at the same time?

[@BertGrink]

Wisdom, perhaps?

[@courtneyclark1215]

its the effect of premature balding when it starts in your 20s. You can end up with a baby face alongside the hairline of a 40-50 year old, creating a maelstorm of mismatched old/young features.

[@subtractivemusic]

Alcohol abuse

[@FiskBrr]

@NESHMETAL r/13or30

[@jenniferwebb5954]

Very steve martin

[@BillionairesArentYourFriends]

As someone who lives near and visits the bay very often (Long Island, NY which is usually known for strong currents) I can't even fathom the speed of that current visually alone. Makes my bay seem stagnant in comparison. It's almost surreal. I had to rewind to hear what Tom was even saying because I was stunned at the immensely powerful speed of the flow was. Really neat stuff.

[@Holmesy87]

"Most of us don't think much" Could have just stopped there really.

[@dpmakestuff]

This is one of the greatest channels on KZbin! Thanks for all you do!

[@numbereightyseven]

Pun intended

[@codyfisher9972]

If you like this guy you will probably like veritasium as well

[@tiggs03]

@@codyfisher9972Goated creators. Mark Rober is awesome too, different stuff though

[@ScienceBusted]

How to prove tides are an illusion Scientists incorrectly believe that tides are caused by the moon's gravitational pull on seawater, causing it to bulge and move around the Earth. The truth is that tides are an illusion of shorelines moving through the ocean, caused by periodic solar orbiting rays that cause thermal expansion of the Earth's crust. To prove that tides are an illusion, a laser beam was set up on a pier at the eastern end of the Bay of Fundy, parallel to sea level and pointing westward to a fixed land mark away from the shore. This target was observed at high and low tide. If the tide is a change in sea level, then the target matches. Otherwise, the tide is an illusion of the coastal seabed moving across the flat ocean due to periodic thermal expansion of the earth's crust.

[@infrabread]

The tides have turned.

[@LudicrouslyLiam]

stop

[@Munkenba]

They do that twice a day. Your point?

[@bagandtag4391]

HOW QUICKLY THE TIDE TURNS

[@phir9255]

sounds epic right

[@aaron_905]

Well well well How the turn tides

[@handsfree1000]

How does Tom come up with all these fascinating phenomena? Well done Tom. Tremendous amount of research

[@jinxedfates]

i know this isnt at all what you meant, but the idea that tom personally creates everything he shows us and is a god funny

[@OPEK.]

If you weren’t aware. Tom is just a spokesperson.(he is very intelligent) But he’s just invited to these phenomena to present it to his audience.

[@peterhoz]

Been there, it was fascinating to see. I'd love you to do a comparison with the horizontal waterfall in NW Australia.

[@mssm9495]

Yep, doesn't seem to compare with Horizontal Falls in Western Australia

[@stickman3214]

*Me:* "Wow that's deadly" *Brain:* "Swim" *Me:* "What?" *Brain:* "You gotta"

[@No-cc1fq]

Good luck

[@iamradiorebel5538]

dont

[@notsocooldude7720]

Do it

[@System-ru5yt]

yes do it

[@skiingmanofculture4781]

Dew it Anakin. Mwehehe.

[@hotriffs4824]

Found Tom last night & I’ve literally been binge watching all his videos! What an educational & awesome channel!

[@MichaelJOneill333]

Tom, I just want to thank you for including captions for all your videos. We so appreciate it!

[@LA12901]

As ever Tom, brilliant. Keep up the great content but don't burn out, looking after yourself is the number one priority.

[@PsychoticusRex]

He needs to get a girlfriend before the stress turns him into Steve Carell or worse, or maybe Herbert Hoover if he has an anonymous LiveLeak account.

[@LA12901]

He might do already, he doesn't like to talk too much about his personal life. I'd consider it but I'm a lesbian so...

[@raspberry_picker395]

LeahAmelia1 whoa

[@jimgritty7064]

Just let him be. Leave Tom alone! 😂

[@theretard666]

Some of Slartibartfast's best work!

[@stevelyman6917]

I grew up next to a total river that has significant currents running both ways. The Piscataqua River has freshwater flowing into it, but the water is dominated by the ocean pouring in and out with the tides. Navigating the currents can be tricky, especially when docking, but it had never been labeled a maelstrom. Saltwater fish and invertebrates dominate, and you can catch lobsters miles inland. I haven't been to my hometown in seventeen years and I miss the river. If you are in coastal New Hampshire or southern Maine, check it out.

[@bobkoure]

For those of us in the New World, the Bay of Fundy has an amazing tidal bore - including at least one big whirlpool (been out in a boat - that felt way too small - to look at it).

[@ArminGrewe]

you might want to take a look at the Corryvreckan whirlpool between Jura and Scarba in Scotland. Bit of a trek to get to, but when it's running it's amazing. You can hear the roar for quite a distance. There​are standing waves and more. It was once described unnavigable, although modern boats and ships can handle it now.

[@mattegeniet]

It's insane how similar this looks to tsunami footage from for example the 2011 tsunami in Japan. Makes you appreciate why the term 'tidal wave' is so often used for tsunamis.

[@anonymousperson6657]

This didn't age well.

[@daka4740]

Wow, over 4 years later and this is still current

[@Timbobjr]

Pun intended?

[@toomignon]

South Puget Sound has a tidal swing of 12-13 (sometimes up to 19) feet in an area of 1,020 sq. miles. All of that water has to go in and out at the Tacoma Narrows between Gig Harbor and Tacoma. That water is in a constant boil.

[@danabray945]

Horizontal falls in Western Australia's Kimberly has 11meter tides (33ft) that pass through a narrow passage

[@Saugaverse]

The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia also experiences super high tides. In fact, people surf the tidal wave with the incoming tides cause it does come in that fast.

[@leonardhopper857]

And another: Deception Pass, Whidby Island, Washington State.

[@trog.lodyte]

Skookumchuck narrows near Egmont BC Canada draws river kayakers to shoot it's rapids during peak tide season.

[@gmarshall1026]

@@Saugaverse if you surf the the horizontal falls in the Kimberley in Australia and you fell off you get eaten bye sharks and crocs

[@yuk-erkmckirk9277]

Talbot bay WA.10m tides passing through a 20m wide gap then through a 10m wide gap further in, creating a horizontal water fall that is spectacular. Tom,you ain't seen nothing till you've seen that,makes that maelstrom look like a trickle.

[@MrAltheArtist]

"This never happens" flashing on the screen! Subtle, love the Hitchiker's Guide references in this one :)

[@spectrafolium]

and the lovely crinkly edges :)

[@ThreadBomb]

I just realised that Tom may have based his whole youtube persona on the Book.

[@Xatzimi]

@@ThreadBomb Nah, I think that's just every Brit

[@ArneKristianNBakklund]

Great to se home in a Tom Scott video. Saltstrømmen is an incredible place everyone should visit if they are in Norway 🇳🇴

[@shivanshkhandelwal859]

Your videos about the Bolton Strid and now this are honestly mindblowing

[@BungeeFX]

What if you were to put some sort of generator there? Or is that inefficient?

[@TheGamerzTown]

Would be pretty ok, but there are a lot of rivers where the amount of water is way higher. And you would also have to deal with the tide switching directions every 6 hours

[@nilsragnar1347]

No, just use waterfalls instead with high fall distances, there are plenty of those in norway anyways

[@pyro1324]

As Jonathanje said, it would be ok but I'd like to add that the mealstrom also creates very turbulent water that could rip it apart if it's not built sturdy enough.

[@Luredreier]

+CrazyGaming You can do it, there's a experimental power plant in New York producing power from the stream of the river there with underwater turbines, nothing stopping us from doing the same here. The issue is just that that there's a *lot* of wear and tear on something like that...

[@ExEBoss]

+slawterer And then all the blended fish matter (which mostly consists of ground up bones and meat) would clog up the generator, requiring it to be taken offline and cleaned, and you’d be hard pressed to find someone willing to clean up that bloody mess.

[@TTaiiLs]

Fun fact: "Saltstraumen" means "The salt current"

[@CobraTeamGuys]

No, "Salt-" comes from Norse "salpt" meaning current.

[@rallis3937]

Arathos no it really means «the salt current»

[@gnuling296]

@@CobraTeamGuys Can you back that claim up?

[@scythal]

I sense some salt in this comment thread....

[@tessjuel]

@@gnuling296 Nobody knows for sure since the name is so old but salt does mean current in old Norse and it's a part of the name of several other Norwegian tidal currents too, such as as the twin Nordsalten (North current) and Sørsalten (South current)

[@juhonivala97]

Im here right now. Drinking with Polish workers i just met 1h ago and having a great time. Thank you Tom❤

[@robertburbulea8503]

Can't tell if you're 15 or 48

[@Sarge084]

The Severn Bore on the spring tide is something to behold. An entire river slows, then proceeds to go backwards at such a velocity that surfers can ride the crest of the wave upstream.

[@MrKveite1]

Yes but the scale and speed is tiny compared to this although you get the wawe up river and here we dont.

[@areteees]

0:02 Bill O'Reilly confirmed

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

You can't explain that.

[@jahobr]

Never a miscommunication.

[@PONYBOYonline]

All hail Harry Potter, the holy deity of all that is true. If it weren't for his wizardly spells of water movement, there would be no tide.

[@vvvvv4233]

What?

[@esbenandersen5706]

Sidney W, some years ago on the O'Reilley Factor, an atheist was interviewed by O'Reilley, who gave the stunning argument for a (/his) gods' existence: The tides. Himself unaware of why the tides "never miscommunicat[ed]", he claimed that "you [atheists] can't explain that" *. Of course, that's pure bollocks, as we can explain it and have been able to for centuries, but O'Reilley seeing it was the perfect argument for his god of a gap, seized upon it. Naturally it became a meme within a few days, and has since survived for when we already know all necessary information to explain a phenomenon, yet uneducated fraudsters still try to claim we know nothing so as to make room for their god. *IIRC, the atheist was so dumbstruck that he couldn't answer straight away, which made O'Reilley repeat the claim several times. It was good fun; look it up.

[@ChokyoDK]

I've been here multiple times and strong maelstroms occur like every 15 minutes. If you throw in a stick or something like it they sometimes get sucked under Very powerful

[@t-dog8528]

@Tom you should take a trip to Horizontal falls in Western Australia, you will not regret seeing one of the worlds most powerful concentrated tidal natural water flows, Montgomery reef is also amazing.

[@matt3rd647]

I immediately thought of Horizontal Falls after watching this vid. From memory the drop in water from the tidal flow can be up to two meters.

[@griffd.481]

Hey Tom! I love your videos, always amazing! I also find it so cool that you find ways to impart profound messages into videos like this, I think that's part of what separates you from typical science and explanation KZbin channels!

[@weav0303]

This reminds me a lot of the tides and currents where I'm from, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. We're on the coast of the Bay Of Fundy which holds the record for the highest tides in the world, 15 metres between low tide and high tide. We're also famous for the Reversing Falls where water from the river and water from the bay meet and flow into each other causing rapids, whirlpools and a look that resembles falls going in reverse, hence the name Reversing Falls. If you're ever in Canada, specifically the East Coast it is definitly worth checking out.

[@MrMikekydd]

I was thinking of the whirlpool in Saint John watching this, even has the bridge above it.

[@Eyes0penNoFear]

This reminds me of Deception Pass in Washington State. It's one of my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest.

[@warpdriveby]

I would think that both laminar and turbulent flow dynamics figure significantly into this amazing system!

[@TheWaWPRO]

Tide goes in tide goes out. You can't explain that. 😂😂😂

[@WeldinMike27]

Thanks Donald

[@micahgelfand8282]

Explains Jesus according to Bill O'Reilly 🙄🙄🙄

[@micahphilson]

0:26 "Lovely crinkly edges." Yes, they give a country a lovely Baroque feel, don't they?

[@rene9892]

Him standing so close to that giant, deep, dark, fast-moving mass of chaotically churning water is SO ANXIETY INDUCING. That aside, great video

[@Saugaverse]

I grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada, where the some of the largest tides in the world happen twice her day on the Bay of Fundy. Very muddy tides, by the way.

[@LucasMartin-im5ub]

Would this be a good place to dump a body? Just asking for a friend. 🤔

[@stevetvr2502]

Yes and no. I live in the area, and have heard a million stories about people falling into the sea and disappearing, never to be found again. Believe it or not though, it's an extremely popular diving spot, where divers can go down underwater at the weakest point of the day. These divers sometimes find rests of bodies at the sea bottom (but they're mostly from suicides, as the huge-ass Saltstraumen bridge above Tom in the video is a 'popular' suicide spot as well).

[@Alucard-gt1zf]

Steve Trump [VR] this fjord is restricted from all divers so no, bodies don’t get found

[@stevetvr2502]

@@Alucard-gt1zf completely wrong. I literally work at the local campsite, which works together with the diving center "Saltstraumen Dykkecamp". Search it up if you don't believe me. It's a thing, it's legal, and it happens.

[@stevetvr2502]

Or "Saltstraumen Diving Camp", I guess in English.

[@100GTAGUY]

If you're looking to dump a body, the best place to do so is out in the Everglades in any remote gator infested mud hole that has a depth of more than twenty feet. But you will need a trusted friend with a helicopter, because you have to drop the body with some velocity for it to punch through the mud and get sucked to the bottom. It's gotta be that deep black mud too, and without deep standing water on top. Gots to have that quick sand surface layer otherwise standing water could prevent proper submersion and give ya a floater. Or so I was told by a friend, who I had asked for a friend of a friend.

[@Zebsy]

Loved the "this never happens" reference! My favourite hitchhikers quote is: (when discussing hyperspace travel) "its like being drunk" "that doesn't sound too bad" "tell that to a pint of lager"

[@ThreadBomb]

I think it was "a glass of water".

[@mvl71]

I'll never be cruel to a gin & tonic again...

[@iterumconare4258]

This must be Thursday. I never could quite get the hang of Thursdays.

[@sevi630]

It would actually be called the Saltstraum Maelstrom, because the "en" at the end of the word would mean the same as the english word "the" before the word. Source: am norwegian

[@Wiggyam]

@@tardigrade9493 rip

[@exessex3522]

Saltstraumen is the name of the locality and so the Saltstraumen Maelstrom is the correct name for the tidal current. It is, after all, the 'maelstrom at Saltstraumen'.

[@benjaminhaase7223]

So much passion and excitement for something kind of drab.

[@austingarrigus755]

I'd love to see a time lapse video of the tide changing here. Watching the water flow in and back out in minutes.

[@rubuu]

The interesting thing about Tom's videos is the fact that you don't realize how interesting the subject is before you've heard about it.

[@alexcook2206]

i grew up in a midwestern small wisconsin town where we dont get "tides" the idea that there are places on earth where the water level changes naturally every day has always amazed me

[@sharonholdren7588]

Amazing how beautifully clear the water is!

[@kirby282]

I love your channel Tom, it's always about such interesting and new things to me! Thanks for showing us parts of the world we'd NEVER get to see otherwise!! Keep it up! ^_^

[@TheCatpirate]

Tom, visit the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton, Virginia. There's an underground tunnel that leads TO WASHINGTON D.C.!!!

[@wyattf.3837]

Catpirate what

[@TheCatpirate]

Wyatt Fenlason It's true

[@AndersJackson]

The fourth longest water tunnel are in Skåne, Sweden. Give fresh water to Malmö region.

[@holeefuksumtingwong5788]

He's right. It is true. I'm not far from there at all. Maybe 2 hours

[@user-nd8vl7uy5x]

Is anyone liable to travel through the tunnel?

[@SEAWEEDER1]

you can also see similar at Connel bridge near Oban Scotland when the tide changes.

[@slartybartfarst55]

Loved the "This Never Happens" Hitchhikers Guide BBC series reference, Excellent catch Tom!

[@TheHorseOutside]

That phrase is in the book too

[@tekvax]

Loved the peter jones HHGTTG, "This never happens" homage!!

[@dylanstorer9441]

You should go to Horizontal Falls in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Also up Cape Leveque there is some strong currents.

[@mabamabam]

Yep. 5m tide through a 12m inlet.

[@pieterveenders9793]

@@mabamabam How about the bay of Fundy in Canada, it has a nearly 20 meter tidal difference, and there's actually a place where the water rushes past an island in the middle of the inlet with such ferocity that it makes the entire island vibrate. Even without that island it already has the biggest tidal difference in the world, but that island increases it even more and so drastically that the water level drops up to 2 meter in height difference in less than a few dozen meters of distance.

[@keernhaslem1845]

Into The Maelstrom is such a great story. Thanks for clarifying the situation.

[@1258-Eckhart]

"Salt-straumen" = "Salt Stream", whereby "Salten" is here (confusingly) the area, not the water.

[@strakhovandrri]

And what is "Maelstorm"?

[@exploder69]

There is a massive tidal rapids in BC Canada, called the Skookum Chuck rapids, getting a very large set of inlets. It absolutely dwarfs those in the video, including large whorl pools that have sucked down large powered vessels several times.

[@texannationalist5887]

this is actually quite slow for Saltstraumen, at top speed it might be faster than skookum chuck

[@jameslovejoy347]

Right. BC has several that exceed this in speed of current and volume of water. Nakwakto Rapids, Skookumchuck, and Seymour Narrows, which has the greatest volume of water flow on the planet (and 16 knot current). Excellent videos of all these and more on youtube.

[@Andreas4696]

Saltstraumen is the world's most powerful maelstrom though.

[@councilofmonkeys3331]

Love the HHGttG references, especially to the old BBC sites

[@sloborange]

Loved the Douglas Adams references from "crinkly edges" to "THIS NEVER HAPPENS".

[@tjrex1915]

I love Whirlpools and Maelstroms

[@Avaruusnuija]

I have seen something quite like this in other parts of Northern Norway. It is really a wild thing to watch. And kinda scary too. Maybe some day I'll visit this particular spot.

[@MicNantel]

I betting the Bay of Fundy, with the highest tides, would generate much faster tidal flow. Reversing Falls (rapids), The Old Sow (Deer island point) and a few others are just some example I can think of. The reversing rapids really only has tidal flow in one direction, as it's a part of the Saint John River tributary system, but it's a huge volume of water that gets pushed up the saint john river.

[@ejej6934]

The Turnagain Arm portion of Cook Inlet in Alaska has bore tides due to the rapid influx of water on the incoming tide. If I'm not mistaken, the tide height difference (between high and low tide) there is second only to the tides at the Bay of Fundy.

[@ImpHalla66]

We too have a similar effect at Deception Pass between the main land and Whidbey Island in Washington, USA

[@newcoyote]

There are similar rapids like this near (somewhat) where I live in BC called Nakwakto. It's also been called the fastest. It looks much faster but that may be because there is a small islet in the middle of it. So there can be a huge water level difference from the currentward vs leeward sides. Yes I have been on it in a small boat and it is horrifying

[@djAnakin]

Wow! I'd love to see a 24 hour time lapse of this.

[@SteelKatanas]

Tom Scott for Prime Minister!

[@john-wo4rv]

drcadillac pink floyd.

[@shriprasadabhangle]

Mad Cap'n Tom for Prime Minister!

[@disguisedking3295]

I learn more from tom than i did from 10 years of school

[@BMXJergen]

my grandfather took me and my brother in the saltstraumen with a boat to fish when we was kids! incredible experience :D my grandfather was a fisherman he's entire life. RIP Grandpa.

[@LEDking1]

Watching this in real life was pretty dope...! Great fishing spot as well

[@JaytleBee]

"Tide goes in, tide goes out. We can quite accurately explain that" -Albert Hawking (2020)

[@iterumconare4258]

What about our year?!

[@4faxache935]

Swam across it last week when it was in full flow, amazing experience, a once in a lifetime experience.

[@1Molehill]

Also have a look at the Falls of Lora in Scotland, The tidal current is huge & develops amazing standing waves that people surf on

[@Brissles]

Can't explain that.

[@PureZOOKS]

Get back to making poops

[@Brissles]

Gah

[@PureZOOKS]

Come on, or else JoeySnowey will beat you again.

[@BatMan-oe2gh]

Not bad, but check out the Horizontal's at Talbot Bay in the Kimberley's, Western Australia, now that is amazing.

[@matteliason5588]

I think faster as well, plus the drop in water levels either side

[@ianmetcalfe7389]

Ty just the info i needed without 2 hours of bs.

[@AntoniOrszykowski]

I like how crystal clear this water looks.

[@integr8er66]

Seems like a great place for a hydro power dam

[@denelson83]

What about Skookumchuck Narrows, near Sechelt, BC, Canada?

[@StevenBLevy]

There's a lot of tourist hype by the Norwegian government here. Deception Pass sixty miles north of Seattle has similar currents (according to Wikipedia, backed up by personal observation), and Sechelt Rapids (Skookcumchuck Narrows forty miles north of Vancouver BC has an even greater flow. You were standing and talking near the maelstrom... which is something you cannot do at Sechelt because the rocks themselves are shaking so much and you need to shout to be heard.

[@sagittarius_]

Maybe that is a future place for Tom to film and tell us about😊

[@StevenBLevy]

@@sagittarius_ I'd be happy to show him around. (Deception Pass; Sechelt is a bit far for that, but I'm sure he has viewers in Vancouver.)

[@misterbanana9210]

You are such a pleasure to listen to, Tom.

[@_Mackan]

You should do a video about the Öresund bridge while you're in Scandinavia.

[@stoborking]

Is it weird that I want to try and swim in it, just to see how strong it is.

[@iAmTheSquidThing]

That depends. If you welcome death, then no, it's not weird at all.

[@gwenynorisu6883]

You would join a long list of people who have met cold, wet, swift deaths in the same spot. The water will be so cold that it'll send your muscles and respiratory system into shock, making it exceptionally hard to swim or even just tread water, but on top of that it's extremely turbulent... you'd be dragged under within seconds, and not even have the strength to try and claw your way back to the surface, assuming you could still tell which way was up. So, yeah... it's maybe not weird, but it is extremely ill-advised.

[@ee3ee452]

Call of the void

[@cstephen98]

Reminds me a bit of The Bay of Fundy, where I grew up. Massive 30'+ tides. They've been talking about generating tidal power there for years.

[@Msgracereads]

In July 1969 when I was there, there was no bridge. The ferry across (they lifted our VW bug aboard) sailed as if going sideways to get to Tuv.

[@saldan3985]

"Most of us don't think much..." You should've just ended the video there Tom.

[@thomasballinger3713]

physics question: where/how would energy be lost if you harvested the energy in this current with like water turbines?

[@MD-qh6ld]

in the end the energy comes from the moons orbit

[@valerieprice1745]

The whirlpools of myth and legend likely refer to areas of gas emergence from underwater volcanoes, which changes the density of the water, such that even wooden ships can't float on it. Ship exclusion zones are declared to keep ships from go close to dangerous underwater volcanoes that are outgassing these days. In the remote past, myth and legend of whirlpools sinking ships may have been their version of ship exclusion zones near dangerous underwater geological features like volcanoes, hydrothermal vets, etc.

[@craigr.h.laurent240]

A time lapse video of what you were talking about would have clearly shown the drama of that tidal wave. Its speed is up to 23 mph.

[@tungsten267]

Look up tidal waves Talbot Bay Western Australia. Another great example.

[@jeremynorman942]

Thanks mate👍

[@troytuckwell3610]

10 mtr tides there make that look tame

[@hootstv8360]

this is the one water current that always kills you in Hungry Shark Evolution

[@ballisticdan9135]

I like Tom. He's awesome. Thanks. Also we gotta tap into that Tidal energy a bit more. Unlike Solar and wind its far more reliable.

[@kovelamanas9905]

watching this after recent titan sub disappearance, just scares me, i dont think I'll ever be on for anything related to ocean/water related. Imagining how you shot under water footage is itself scary

[@johnlochness]

You need to check out the Falls Of Laura in Scotland. Maybe not the same volume of water but way more spectacular.

[@aaronc9279]

Why dont we build a Hydro Electric Power station there to harness this energy?

[@user-by7hj4dj9s]

The strait to be open for boat traffic

[@mortenthoren9265]

We don’t want to destroy nature

[@bananobanana1870]

GriZz _UK you better use rivers for that, they don't change their direction every 6 hrs

[@ninjafruitchilled]

It's also really remote. Not a lot of people living in the far north of Norway.

[@ShiroiRyuu24]

It's not possible on a place area that, you will need an elevation, which causes the hydro machine (Turbine) to generate electricity.

[@prdgmshft9107]

This video came out 5 years ago and it’s still current.

[@sgvincent100]

I live next to the Tacoma Narrows (WA state) which is a bit wider than the Saltstraumen Maelstrom (about 1 mile across, home of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge of “Galloping Gertie” fame), and it runs very swiftly during spring tides (not the season). I was boating near the Narrows once when a party boat lost power and was swept into a pier of the bridge, plunging it immediately down under the water. Miraculously all passengers were saved, thanks to a quick search and rescue by a number of boats in the vicinity (in which I participated). An old grandpa who was swept overboard managed to lash himself to the timbers attached to the pier, and a 13 year old boy swam to shore (we intercepted him). The rest were picked up by the various search boats. That solidified my absolute rule of boating: everyone wears a life jacket on my boat, period. There’s another place in Washington State called Deception Pass that has even faster maelstrom-y current than the Tacoma Narrows. It’s amazing to watch power boats passing through the Pass against the tide, at full power and barely making any headway at all. Respect the sea! ✌🏼

[@chrishousley2577]

I just mentioned Deception Pass. Ocean really moves through there.